African Quotes and Art: Mask Collection

This is a compilation of African quoteson a variety of topics including wisdom quotes, leadership quotes, friendship quotes, family quotes, spiritual quotes, peace quotes and love quotes. African mask pictures accompany each category of quotes. I have chosen to use African masks for this particular collection because they are the best known African works of art and also because they are symbolic of African culture and traditions. This hub gives a glimpse into African history and is also applicable to our daily lives. I hope you will find it both educational and entertaining. Learning expands great souls. - African Proverb

Punu Mukudj African Tribal Mask | Source

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African Leadership Quotes

1. He who is destined for power does not have to fight for it. - Ugandan Proverb2. He who thinks he is leading and has no one following him is only taking a walk. – Malawi3. Do not forget what it is to be a sailor because of being a captain yourself. – Tanzania4. Where a woman rules, streams run uphill. – Ethiopia5. Without a leader, black ants are confused. - Ugandan Proverb6. An army of sheep led by a lion can defeat an army of lions led by a sheep. - Ghana Proverb7. He who refuses to obey cannot command. - Kenyan Proverb8. He who fears the sun will not become chief. - Ugandan Proverb9. A large chair does not make a king. - Sudanese Proverb10. Because he lost his reputation, he lost a kingdom. - Ethiopian Proverb11. A leader who does not take advice is not a leader. – Kenya 12. Those who accomplish great things pay attention to little ones. – Malawi13. If the cockroach wants to rule over the chicken, then it must hire the fox as a body-guard. – Sierra Leone14. It is not what you are called, but what you answer to. – African quotes

Quote Card featuring Bwa African Mask Painting | Source

Wisdom Quotes

1. Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it. - Akan Proverb2. The wise create proverbs for fools to learn, not to repeat. ~African Proverb3. Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~Guinean Proverb4. Nobody is born wise. ~African Proverb5. Wisdom is wealth. - Swahili 6. In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams. ~Nigerian 7. If you are filled with pride, then you will have no room for wisdom. – African quotes8. Wisdom does not come overnight. – Somali9. The fool speaks, the wise man listens. ~Ethiopian Proverb10. The heart of the wise man lies quiet like limpid water. ~ Cameroon11. A wise person will always find a way. ~Tanzanian Proverb12. The wise continues while the fool is always beginning. – African quotes

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African Peace Quotes

1. There can be no peace without understanding. ~Senegalese Proverb2. Peace is costly but it is worth the expense. ~Kenyan Proverb3. When a king has good counselors, his reign is peaceful. ~Ashanti Proverb4. Milk and honey have different colors, but they share the same house peacefully. ~ African quotes5. Peace does not make a good ruler. ~Botswana Proverb6. If you can’t resolve your problems in peace, you cannot solve war. – Somalia7. When there is peace in the country, the chief does not carry a shield. ~Ugandan Proverb8. The weak warrior wearing sandals overcomes the brave with a thorn in his foot. – African quotes9. Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far. – West African Proverb 10. A fight between grasshoppers is a joy to the crow. - Lesotho 11. War has no eyes – Swahili Saying12. When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled. – Swahili Saying

Songye Kifwebe African Mask | Source

Friendship Quotes

1. Hold a true friend with both hands. – African quotes2. To be without a friend is to be poor indeed. - Tanzania3. The friends of our friends are our friends.- Congo4. A small house will hold a hundred friends. – African Proverbs5. A friend is someone you share the path with. – African Proverb Quotes6. A close friend can become a close enemy. – African Proverb Quotes7. Bad friends will prevent you from having good friends. – Gabon8. Words are easy, friendship is hard. - Uganda9. Between true friends even water drunk together is sweet enough. – African Quotes10. Return to old watering holes for more than water; friends and dreams are there to meet you. – African Proverb

Guro Bird Mask African Tribal Masks | Source

Community and Unity Quotes

1. If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. – African Proverb2. Unity is strength, division is weakness. – Swahili 3. It takes a village to raise a child. – African proverb4. Many hands make light work. – Tanzania5. A single stick may smoke, but it will not burn. – African Proverb6. Where there are many, nothing goes wrong. – Swahili7. Two ants do not fail to pull one grasshopper. – Tanzania 8. A single bracelet does not jingle. - Congo9. Cross the river in a crowd and the crocodile won't eat you. - African quotes10. Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable. – Bondei

Iyoba Pendant African Masks | Source

Family Quotes

1. If I am in harmony with my family, that's success. – African proverb quotes2. A family tie is like a tree, it can bend but it cannot break. – African Quotes3. A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place. – African Proverb4. Brothers love each other when they are equally rich. - Swahili5. He who earns calamity, eats it with his family. – African Proverb6. Dine with a stranger but save your love for your family. – Ethiopian7. The old woman looks after the child to grow its teeth and the young one in turn looks after the old woman when she loses her teeth. – Akan Proverb8. When brothers fight to the death, a stranger inherits their father's estate. – Nigeria9. Children are the reward of life. – African Quotes10. A united family eats from the same plate. – Uganda

Kuba African Tribal Masks | Source

Congolese African Masks and Decor

Marriage and Love Quotes

1. Let your love be like the misty rain, coming softly, but flooding the river. – African Love Quotes2. The best part of happiness lies in the secret heart of a lover.- African proverb3. Where there is love there is no darkness. -Burundi4. One thread for the needle, one love for the heart. - Sudan5. Love is like a baby: it needs to be treated tenderly. - Congo DRC6. Love is like rice: transplanted, still it grows. -Madagascar7. If the full moon loves you, why worry about the stars? -Tunisia8. He who loves the vase loves also what is inside. - Uganda9. Coffee and love taste best when hot! - Ethiopian Proverb10. Marriage is like a groundnut; you have to crack it to see what is inside. - Ghana 11. The buttocks are like a married couple though there is constant friction between them; they will still love and live together. - African Proverb12. It is Mr. Old-Man-Monkey who marries Mrs. Old-Woman-Monkey. - Ghana13. If there were no cold Friday evenings and boring Saturdays, no one would get married anymore. - Morocco14. One who marries for love alone will have bad days but good nights. - African Quotes15. A happy man marries the girl he loves, but a happier man loves the girl he marries. - African Proverb16. The man may be the head of the home but the wife is the heart. - Kenya

Fang Ngil African Mask Metal Art by Injete | Source

African Culture and History Books

Education Quotes

1. He who learns, teaches. ~Ethiopian Proverb2. Learning expands great souls. ~Namibian Proverb3. To get lost is to learn the way. – African Quotes4. By crawling a child learns to stand. – African Proverbs5. When you follow in the path of your father, you learn to walk like him. ~Ashanti Proverb6. If you close your eyes to facts, you will learn through accidents. ~African Proverb7. Wealth, if you use it, comes to an end; learning, if you use it, increases. ~Swahili 8. By trying often, the monkey learns to jump from the tree. ~Baganda Proverb9. Instruction in youth is like engraving in stone. ~Moroccan Proverb10. You always learn a lot more when you lose than when you win. ~African Proverb11. You learn how to cut down trees by cutting them down. ~ African Quotes12. What you help a child to love can be more important than what you help him to learn. ~ African Proverb13. By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed. ~Ashanti Proverb14. You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla. ~Congolese Proverb15. What you learn is what you die with. ~African Proverb

Senufo African tribal mask. | Source

Spiritual Quotes

1. God gives nothing to those who keep their arms crossed. - African Proverb2. When an enemy digs a grave for you, God gives you an emergency exit. – Burundi3. If God breaks your leg, He will teach you how to limp. - Ghana4. When God cooks, you don't see smoke. - Zambia Proverb5. God is a great eye. He sees everything. – African Quotes6. Where there are many people, there God is. - Swahili7. A house that is built by God will be completed. - Ethiopia8. God exercises vengeance in silence. – Burundi and Rwanda9. God goes above any shield. – Rwanda10. When you throw a stone at God, it lands right on top of your head.11. God is never in a hurry, but He is always there at the proper time. - Ethiopia12. God knows the things of tomorrow. - Burundi13. God is our neighbour when our brother is absent. - Swahili14. When one is in trouble, one remembers God. – Nigeria

Lega African Tribal Masks | Source

Patience Quotes

1. However long the night, the dawn will break. – African Quotes2. Patience is the mother of a beautiful child. – African Proverb3. Hurry hurry has no blessings. – Swahili Saying4. To run is not necessarily to arrive. – Swahili Proverb5. Patience attracts happiness; it brings near that which is far. - Swahili6. Patience can cook a stone. – African quotes7. A patient man will eat ripe fruit. – African Proverb8. Patience is the key which solves all problems. - Sudan9. Patience puts a crown on the head. - Uganda10. A patient person never misses a thing. - Swahili11. Always being in a hurry does not prevent death, neither does going slowly prevent living. - Nigeria12. At the bottom of patience one finds heaven. – African Proverb Quotes

Comments

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Bonnie Hall 4 years agofrom California

Interesting approach ... informative with quality masks. thanks...

Author

Moyra 5 years ago

Hi Alladream thanks glad you enjoyed the hub.

Victor Mavedzenge 5 years agofrom Oakland, California

Beautiful qoutes.Really enjoyed them.Thanks for an original hub.

Author

Moyra 5 years ago

Hi Carol thanks there are lots of African proverbs on the web and it was interesting reading them.I love quotes and it was nice to work on some from Africa for a change. Sorry you lost your masks hopefully you can get some replacements one day.

Carolyn Sands 6 years agofrom Hollywood Florida

My goodness, I'm so impressed! You managed to come up with a LOT of African Quotes. And I love the mask...they are so unsusal looking. I had a couple of them at one time but they got lost long ago when I moved.

Author

Moyra 6 years ago

Hi 2uesday! Thanks great hearing from you.

2uesday 6 years ago

A beautifully put together HubPage which is interesting and also contains much wisdom in the quotations.

Author

Moyra 6 years ago

Hi Roshall thanks I am glad you enjoyed the presentation. I do love the masks too some are rather rare finds and are photos from Museum or private collections but at least you can get some pretty good reproductions.

roshall 6 years agofrom Ohio

I LOVE THE ART.HAVE TO GET SOMETHING SOON.

Author

Moyra 6 years ago

Hi Ashantina. Thanks I decided to go back to my roots for quotes it was fun and insightful collecting them. I was spoilt for choice because there are so many on a variety of topics.

Ashantina 6 years ago

Wow, what a vast collection. Thanks for sharing and remembering our ancestral wisdom.